Resumes Question: limited experience (1 Viewer)

[Dan Lambskin]

So my brother asked if I could help my nephew with a resume for a manufacturing job

He has pretty limited work experience (dishwasher and I think one other manufacturing job that didn't work out so well) and schooling (believe he has his GED or finished school through an online program)

I don't want to go into a lot of detail but he had a pretty troubled childhood and my brother is trying to get him into a division where he works, so basically trying to figure out what's I can put on a resume for him.  Do I stress math and science type classes? List other skills aside from work experience?

I know how to do a professional resume but struggling with how to handle something like this so any help or examples are appreciated

 

[bostonfred]

I would list relevant work experience, and not list education.  I would also list relevant skills, especially technical or handyman skills or anything related to his specific job.  Any position of responsibility.  

 

[wilked]

He's not going to get a mfg job through his resume.  He will either need someone to 'sell him' (ie vouch for him to a hiring manager) or needs to get face to face with a hiring manager and sell himself.  What city is he looking?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Rifled through about 30 resumes last night for an entry level receptionist position. Immediately tossed out applications with a generic cover letter. If they couldn't take the time for a proper cover letter, I didn't take the time to look at their resume. 

 

[eoMMan]

I would list relevant work experience, and not list education.  I would also list relevant skills, especially technical or handyman skills or anything related to his specific job.  Any position of responsibility.  

Yeah, and if it's an entry level manufacturing job, I think the initial interview and how he presents himself would outweigh his resume. They probably aren't expecting much as far as degrees/experience/etc. for this position. 

 

[whiskey7]

I would list relevant work experience, and not list education.  I would also list relevant skills, especially technical or handyman skills or anything related to his specific job.  Any position of responsibility.  

+1

Sounds like he's light on actual work experience and education. I would put a section in there (call it Relevant Skills or Summary of Qualifications or something like that) and try to emphasize/sell what he can do (eg good attention to detail/process, reliable, works well independently and as part of a team, etc)  that would make him valuable to that company.

 

[trogg78]

It would be a shame if someone missed out on a job that was qualified and actually able to write their own resume.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Rifled through about 30 resumes last night for an entry level receptionist position. Immediately tossed out applications with a generic cover letter. If they couldn't take the time for a proper cover letter, I didn't take the time to look at their resume. 

You get custom cover letters?  I don't think I've seen one in years.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

You get custom cover letters?  I don't think I've seen one in years.

The first paragraph should mention the position/company at a minimum IMO. The last 2-3 paragraphs can be generic for an entry level job.

 

[Mookie]

My pet peeves are typos and grammatical errors.  Shows a lack of attention to detail and a penchant for rushing through important tasks.

 

[Henry Ford]

So my brother asked if I could help my nephew with a resume for a manufacturing job

He has pretty limited work experience (dishwasher and I think one other manufacturing job that didn't work out so well) and schooling (believe he has his GED or finished school through an online program)

I don't want to go into a lot of detail but he had a pretty troubled childhood and my brother is trying to get him into a division where he works, so basically trying to figure out what's I can put on a resume for him.  Do I stress math and science type classes? List other skills aside from work experience?

I know how to do a professional resume but struggling with how to handle something like this so any help or examples are appreciated

It sounds like you want to tailor a resume with no relevant experience that he can list (because the other manufacturing job "didn't work out so well") and no relevant education in order to get a job.  That's very difficult.  His objective and cover letter are going to need to clearly express why he thinks he can and should make the move to manufacturing from dishwashing. 

Is the other manufacturing job even listable? 

 

[wilked]

It would be a shame if someone missed out on a job that was qualified and actually able to write their own resume.

Is this English?

I agree with the others re: typos and grammar (good example here)

 

[Dan Lambskin]

It sounds like you want to tailor a resume with no relevant experience that he can list (because the other manufacturing job "didn't work out so well") and no relevant education in order to get a job.  That's very difficult.  His objective and cover letter are going to need to clearly express why he thinks he can and should make the move to manufacturing from dishwashing. 

Is the other manufacturing job even listable? 

Yeah not sure.  I need to get more details on that.  I think I'll go the relevant skills route or something like that as someone suggested

 

[Shutout]

You get custom cover letters?  I don't think I've seen one in years.

Cover letters?  Really?

Maybe its an industry thing but in my environment, there are no cover letters, real paper or documents.  Everything is streamlined, bam bam, bam.  Show me a resume and show me a good one...clean, succinct, and organized. 

One thing I HAVE seen an uptick on which I think is part trend but also kind of neat, is people ARE taking the time to send a postcard type thank you when contacted. 

 

[bueno]

I would put an objective and a summary of qualifications at the top of my resume, then list work experience. You don't have to put in much detail if the work experience is not relative to the position sought. Then education, and finally a bullet list of any skills not mentioned (i.e. if the job requires using a computer, might list computer skills. Not much different from a professional resume really. When I'm reading resumes, I read the summary or qualifications and objectives first and sort into keepers and round filers.

 

[Skoo]

Luckily for him, he resume is probably not hugely important for the jobs he is applying for. Most entry-jobs like that have on-the-job-training, they really just want someone who can be trained and who can do the job.

A good tip is to look at the job posting and include as many of those keywords and phrases as he can. So if the posting says he needs to be able to lift up to 50lbs continuously, he should list that on his resume.

"Trainable", "eager to learn", "able to follow instructions", are some examples I'd probably try to include.